Towable tent campers and pop-up trailers having collapsible roofs are generally well known in the art. Despite the wide spread popularity of large recreational vehicles such as motorhomes and fifth wheel trailers, many consumers prefer the relative simplicity, low cost and ease of operation of the smaller and less expensive towable pop-up trailers and tent campers. On a pop-up camper, the top folds down to a collapsed, compact state giving the trailer a low aerodynamic profile and making the trailer easily towable by small cars and light trucks. Once the desired destination has been reached, the collapsible top is raised relative to the body to form a temporary living space which is typically enclosed by flexible, tent like walls.
Tent campers typically have flexible canvas sidewalls which extend between the camper body and the collapsible top. In order to brighten the interior of the tent camper, many tent campers include one or more flexible transparent windows. The flexible windows are usually attached to the sidewalls by zippers. In order to provide increased ventilation, the zippers can be unzipped to expose a screened opening. In order to open the window, the window unzips from the flexible sidewall and is rolled downwardly into a cylindrical shape. In order to protect the window from damage, a pair of vertical retaining straps are provided to maintain the window in the rolled position against the camper sidewall.
Tent campers may also be equipped with decorative curtains similar to those found in larger recreational vehicles and homes. The curtains lend a more finished, pleasing appearance to the interior of the camper and are thus very desirable. Unfortunately, the curtains generally require operating hardware separate from and in addition to the retaining straps required by the windows, which results in a very cluttered interior. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a single mechanism that controls both the flexible window and the decorative curtain.
The improved wall panel of the present invention provides a retaining mechanism that not only retains the window in the rolled position but also serves as an adjustment mechanism to control the position of the window curtain. The combined mechanism thus eliminates hardware. The mechanism also provides for quickly and easily adjusting the position of the decorative curtain, and allows the curtain to placed in a wide variety of positions.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved interior wall panel assembly for pop-up campers.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved wall panel assembly for pop-up campers that uses the same mechanism for both retaining the window in the rolled open position and for adjusting the curtain.
Other objects of the invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following description.